The Export–Import Bank of China (; Exim Bank) is a

policy bank Policy bank (), or policy lender, is a State-owned enterprise, state-owned financial institution established by the government of the People's Republic of China with the goal of implementing official economic policies and carrying out financial bus ...

of China under the State Council. Established in 1994, the bank was chartered to implement the state policies in

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

foreign trade International trade is the exchange of Capital (economics), capital, goods, and Service (economics), services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countr ...

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, and

foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. The ...

to other developing countries, and provide policy financial support so as to promote the export of Chinese products and services.

Mission

The bank is a policy bank and along with other Chinese policy institutions like

China Development Bank China Development Bank (CDB) is a policy bank of China under the State Council. Established in 1994, it has been described as the engine that powers the national government's economic development policies.

and Sinosure implement the

economic policies ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris School of Economics. The jo ...

of the government. The focus of the bank is facilitate Chinese companies' exports. Commercial lending forms the backbone of the bank. Commercial activity includes export credits mainly in the

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

fields (roads, power plants, oil and gas pipelines, telecom, and water projects) and investment loans for Chinese businesses to establish overseas in the energy, mining and industrial sectors. Another function is to administer concessional loans which are no interest or very low interest loans provided as foreign aid by the Chinese government. Exim is the sole provider of Chinese government concessional loans. Exim Bank does not publish figures for overseas loans. However, U.S. officials estimate that it finances more than the total export financing of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

industrialized nations combined. ''The

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' estimates that in 2009 and 2010, Exim Bank and

(CDB) together signed loans of at least $110 billion to other developing country governments and companies, more than the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

over a similar period. In 2014, CIC contributed some of the initial capital for the

Silk Road Fund The Silk Road Fund ( zh, s=丝路基金, t=, p=) is a China Government Guidance Fund to foster increased investment in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (formerly One Belt, One Road), an economic development initiative primarily ...

. Along the CDB and the Silk Road Fund, Exim Bank is one of the primary financing sources for

Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...

(BRI) development projects in Africa. Rival export financing institutions that have seen a decline in influence, such as the U.S. Export–Import Bank through Chairman Fred Hochberg, have complained that Exim Bank doesn't follow the export financing guidelines promulgated by the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

and so has an unfair advantage.

Capitalization

Exim Bank was established in 1994. Exim Bank implemented a bond auction in 1999. In 2015, China used its

foreign exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold and silver held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, ...

to recapitalize Exim Bank, which in turn empowered it to make significant foreign loans. Exim Bank is entirely

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

. As of 2019, its majority owner is Buttonwood Investment Holding Company Ltd. (which is in turn owned by the

State Administration of Foreign Exchange The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) of the People's Republic of China is an administrative agency under the State Council tasked with drafting rules and regulations governing foreign exchange market activities, and managing the ...

) and the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

is a minority owner.

Foreign aid and development assistance

The bank is a part of the

Chinese foreign aid Chinese foreign aid may be considered as both governmental (official) and private development aid and humanitarian aid originating from the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Chinese official aid - unlike most major nation-state sources of ...

system and administers the Two Preferential Loan Program (; ''liangyou''). The concessional loan () and preferential buyer's credit () are the two main loan products under the preferential loan program. Exim Bank's Sovereign Business Loan Department manages these loans. These two types of loans are a major part of the financing support for the BRI. For concessional loans the bank advances a no interest or very low interest rate loan to a developing country government or agency to build a project (e.g. power plant, road, water treatment facility). The term of the concession loan is up to 20 years and a maximum

grace period A grace period is a period immediately after the deadline for an obligation during which a late fee, or other action that would have been taken as a result of failing to meet the deadline, is waived provided that the obligation is satisfied duri ...

of 7 years is given. The preferential export buyer's credit is provided to a foreign borrower to purchase Chinese goods or services (e.g. construction contractor building the project). Concessional loans are a form of foreign aid and subsidized by the Chinese government revenues. They are denominated in

renminbi The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...

. Preferential buyers' credits are denominated in U.S. dollars. Although their conditions are concessional, they are not subsidized by tax revenues. The preferential export buyer's credit is generally classified as a commercial loan rather than foreign aid even if the interest rate is very low because the purpose is to promote Chinese exports. During the

Covid pandemic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fev ...

, the bank granted the government of

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

an undisclosed amount of debt relief. In 2022, the bank signed an agreement with Hong Kong realtor group

ESR Group ESR Group Limited (ESR) is an Asia focused Real Estate services and investment company. It focuses on building and managing logistics properties such as warehouses and distribution centers. It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands but headquart ...

and to invest in

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

infrastructure projects. In 2023, the Exim Bank has agreed to support Sri Lanka's

debt restructuring Debt restructuring is a process that allows a private or public company or a sovereign entity facing cash flow problems and financial distress to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts to improve or restore liquidity so that it can continu ...

efforts. The news follow's India's promise to also support Sri Lanka through the debt restructuring program. The bank has provided more than $1 billion in loans to the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

for upgrading infrastructure, including upgrading an airport, bridge construction, and relocating the country's port.

Sri Lanka

Beginning in the early 2000s, the Sri Lankan government sought to obtain funding from international creditors to develop Hambantota. The Sri Lankan government sought funding for the Hambantota Port project form both the United States and India, which both declined. After India declined to fund development of the port, Sri Lanka next sought funding from China. In July 2006, Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera met in China with Exim Bank president Li Ruogu. After this visit, Sri Lanka and China agreed that both countries would encourage Chinese companies to participate in the port project and encourage the use of concessional loans from China to finance the project. Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa visited China in February 2007 and the visit resulted in China's decision to fund the port development. In 2023, Exim Bank provided Sri Lanka with an extension on Sri Lankan debt due in 2022 and 2023.

Organizational structure

Internal Departments

* Executive Office * Human Resources Department * Business Development & Innovation Department * Corporate Business Department * Shipping Financing Department * Onlending Department * Planning & Financial Management Department * Evaluation Department * Auditing Department * Legal Affairs Department * International Business Department * Risk Management Department * Administrative Department * Supervision Office * Economic Research Department * Department of Special Account Financing * Corporate Business Department * Concessional Loan Department * Treasury Department * Information Technology Department * Compliance Department * Accounting Department * Workers Union * Software Development Department * Party & League Affairs Department

Mainland branches

There are a total of 21 branches of the bank, in

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, and

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Board of Directors

Exim Bank has a twelve-member board of directors. Two are the executives in charge of managing Exim Bank. Six are directors from the agencies that hold shares of Exim Bank. The four "government-ministry directors" come from the

National Development and Reform Commission The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is the third-ranked executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, which functions as a macroeconomic management agency. Established as the State Planning C ...

, the

Ministry of Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, and the

Chairmen

Governors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Exim Bank Of China Banks established in 1994 Export credit agencies Development finance institutions Chinese foreign aid Foreign trade of China Chinese companies established in 1994 Companies based in Beijing Government-owned banks of China 1994 establishments in Beijing